Video games and video game systems have become even more popular due to the marketing toward, and resulting participation from, casual gamers. Conventional video game devices or controllers use visual and auditory cues to provide feedback to a user. In some interface devices, kinesthetic feedback (such as active and resistive force feedback) and/or tactile feedback (such as vibration, texture, and heat) is also provided to the user, more generally known collectively as “haptic feedback” or “haptic effects”. Haptic feedback can provide cues that enhance and simplify the user interface. Specifically, vibration effects, or vibrotactile haptic effects, may be useful in providing cues to users of electronic devices to alert the user to specific events, or provide realistic feedback to create greater sensory immersion within a simulated or virtual environment.
Other devices, such as medical devices, automotive controls, remote controls, and other similar devices wherein a user interacts with a user input elements to cause an action also benefit from haptic feedback or haptic effects. For example, and not by way of limitation, user input elements on medical devices may be operated by a user outside the body of a patient at a proximal portion of a medical device to cause an action within the patient's body at a distal end of the medical device. Haptic feedback or haptic effects may be employed devices to alert the user to specific events, or provide realistic feedback to user regarding interaction of the medical device with the patient at the distal end of the medical device.
Conventional haptic feedback systems for gaming and other devices generally include one or more actuators attached to the housing of the controller for generating the haptic feedback. However, these conventional haptic feedback systems create a haptic sensation along the entire body of the controller. Such a device does not provide a targeted or directed haptic sensation to the user for specific actions or locations.
Embodiments hereof relate to a haptic feedback system that provides a kinesthetic haptic effect to the user input element. Further, embodiments hereof relate to a haptic feedback system which produces haptic effects to the user input element that are discernible or distinguishable from general haptic effects produced along the entire body of the device/controller.